Discharge apparatus for coal hoppers



P 30,1952 R. D. WEARNE 2,612,298

DISCHARGE APPARATUS FOR COAL HOPPERS Filed Jan. 25, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET l Sept. 30, 1952 WEARNE 2,612,298

DISCHARGE APPARATUS FOR COAL HOPPERS Filed Jan. 25, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 55 J6 54 /1/ 20 A? [0 46 m k I Z6 42 i! [J J? a F ISA.

M0 w .60 /0 2 I 4% J0 MK I I I xxwm a 5 /g a /Z/ 1 W I F5, 4i 52 Inventor:

Patented Sept. 30, 1952 msommcc APPARATUS tee an i HOPPERS Richard DrWearne, Crown-Patina v .to' UnitedlStates .Steel Company, ,acorporation or New Jersey ApPIicatiOnJanuary 25, 1950, Serial- No;1 1M403 vThis invention relates to coal charging cars and more particularly to animproveddrsch-arge apparatus for the hoppers of coke oven coal charging cars.

discharge or feed chute adjacent the hopper.

The dischar e spouts were arranged to align with charging holes or ,portslocated in the top of the coke ovens through which the coal was fed into the ovens.

The rotary table formed the bottom of each hopper but was detached therefrom in order to permit it to be rotated. Since the rotary table could not abut the bottom of the hopper to provide a seal therefor, it was necessary to hang a belt of flexible :material from the bottom edges of the hopper to prevent. spillage of coal from the opening between the sides of the'hopper and the rotary table. This arrangement,however, did .not prove entirely satisfactory-since the bottom edge of the belt very quickly became worn by the revolving table after installation and, consequently, was ineffective as a seal. After each coal charging operation it was necessary to sweep up a considerable amount of coal and coal dust from the coke oven roof. This spillage required additional labor to maintain favorable working conditions on the coke oven tops.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide an improved hopper construction for coal charging cars wherein a feeding device is mounted internally within the hopper so as to render the hopper spillproof while coal is being discharged therefrom.

This and other objects will become more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a coke oven charging c'ar;

Figure 2 is a sectional plan View showing the bottom of a coke oven charging car hopper according to the invention;

Figure 3 is an elevational sectional view; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a modification of the invention.

.3 'C1aims. (01. 3.225410 1' Referring more particularly =to=the dr w s. reference. numeral 2 indicates-1a coal chargin car having 'founcoal hoppers-:4 mounted thereon. A downwardly' directed discharge spout :6 is mountedon the car laterally adjacent the bottom of each of the hoppers 4 with its entryend 3 communicating with the interior of the hopper. The bottom of. each hopper is, sealed by means of a circular-steel plate Ill which-is attached to the bottom edge-ofthe hopper-wall by suitable means such as a continuous weld. .Ancpening i2 is provided through the center of. the plate 40. :A turntable l4, having a raised center body portion It, is mounted for rotation .on the top surface of the plate ID within the hopp er. The ,body portion I6 is .provided with a vertical center, opening l8 therethrough.. The turntable I4 is also provided with a plurality of radially vextending riblike vanes 20, projecting vfrom the top, surface thereof, whichiunction as sweeps to, impel the coal from the hopper into. the discharge spout when the turntable is rotated. JA coup1ing24, having an upper shank 26 .anda lowershank28, is mounted'subjacent the'hopper l with-theend 21 of its shank 26 fitted within the center opening [2 of the bottom plate fill. The diameter of the shank'end' 2'! isonly slightly less than the diameter-"of the opening I2' so that itfits snugly but is rotatable therein. Each of the shanks 26 and'28 has a center bore 30. 'andJJSZ, respectively. A tapered shaft '34, having a threaded end, is keyed into "the opening tflyan'd projects therefrom into and'through the opening l8 of the body portion I6. Turntable I4 is fixed on the shaft 34 by means of a nut 36 and a key 38, as shown in Figure 3. A shaft 40 is keyed in the opening 32 of shank 28 and extends therefrom to a motor or similar power source (not shown). The shanks 26 and 28 are joined together by means of bolts 42 which pass through aligned bolt holes 44 so that turntable I4 is rotated when thecoupling is rotated by means of shaft 40 and the motor connected thereto.

To prevent leakage of coal between the plate It! and the shank 26 of coupling 24, I have provided a sealing ring 46 on the top surface of plate 14 around the center opening I2 therein. The sealing ring 46 may be made by providing the surface of plate 10 with a raised portion during the fabrication thereof or affixing a ring of meta1 or other suitable material thereon by weld ing or otherwise.

In Figure 4, I have shown a modification having a conical cap 48 attached to the surface of the center body portion I6 by means of bolts 50.

The conical cap 48 acts to direct the flow of coal toward the outer periphery of the turntable l4 and thereby reduces the power required to rotate the turntable.

In operation, coal is loaded into eachof the hoppers in the conventional manner through an opening in its top. The charging car is then moved on rails along the cokeoven battery roof 4 until the discharge spouts are positioned directly over the charging holes of the coke oven to be charged. The coke oven is then charged by rotating each of the turntables [4 to impel the' coal from the hoppers to the discharge spouts. Since the bottom of each hopper is completely sealed, there is no spillage or leakage of coal during the entire charging operation.

Although I have shown four hoppers mounted on one charging car, it will be understood that the number of hoppers depends on the design and size of the coke oven battery and the number of charging holes in each oven. I

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Iclaim: s

1. In a coal charging car having at least one open bottom coal hopper mounted thereon, and a downwardly extending discharge spout mounted on said car laterally adjacent the bottom portion of each hopper, said discharge spout having an entry end communicating with the interior of the hopper adjacent thereto, the improvement comprising a plate having a center opening therethrough fixedly attached to the bottom of said hopper to seal the same, rotary impeller means mounted for rotation on said bottom plate,'said impeller means includinga turntable, a raised center body portion on said turntable, said body portion having a vertical center opening theree through, and a plurality of rib-like vanes on the .upper surface of'said turntable extending radially from said body portion, said turntable being positioned on said bottom plate with the opening in its body portion communicating with the center opening in said bottom plate, means for rotating said impeller to move coal from saidhopper to said discharge spout, said'last named means com-: prising a coupling having an upper and lower shank end mounted subl'acent said bottom plate with its upper shank end rotatably fitted in the center opening of said bottom plate, a shaft having a threaded end projecting from the upper shank of said coupling and passing through the opening in said body portion, the lower shank of said coupling being connected to a power source for rotating the coupling, and a sealing ring mounted on the upper side of said bottom plate around the center opening therein.

2. In a coal charging car, the improvement as defined in claim 1 characterized by a coneshaped cap member fixedly mounted on the upper surface of said center body portion.

3. Ina coal charging car having at least one open bottom hopper mounted thereon, and a downwardlyextending discharge spout mounted on said car laterally adjacent the bottom portion of each'hopper, said discharge spout having an entry end communicating with the interior of the hopper adjacent thereto, the improvement comprising a sealed bottom on said hopper, said sealed bottom consisting of a plate having a center opening therethrough fixedly attached to the bottom of saidhopper to seal the same, rotary impeller means rotatably mounted on the top surface of said plate, and means for rotating said impeller to move coal from said hopper to said discharge spout, said last named means comprising a coupling having an upper and lower shank end mounted subjacent said bottom plate with its upper shank end rotatably fitted in the center opening of said bottom plate, a shaft having a threaded end projecting upwardly from the upper shank of said coupling and passing through the center of said rotary impeller, said rotary impeller being keyed on said shaft, the lower shank of said coupling being connected to a power source for rotating the coupling.

RICHARD D. WEARNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

I V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 260,444 Allen July 4, 1882 839,565 Einstein Dec. 25, 1906 1,302,922 Heylman May 6, 1919 1,625,721 Hahn Apr. 19, 1927 1,989,322 Leavitt Jan. 29, 1935 2,347,964 Otto May 2, 1944 

